Craft adapted to travel on land or water or in the air



J. B. lcRE 1,780,298 u CRAFT ADAPTED TC TRAVEL yON LAND OR WATER OR IN THE AIR Filed Jan.

22, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l J. B. ICRE 1,780,298

CRAFT ADAPTL TO TRAVEL ON LAND OR WATER OR IN THE AR Nov. 4, 1930,A

Filed Jan. 22, 1929 2 sht-sheet 2 /NVENTo/e s/Emv Baar/srs /CBE- A TTORNE g5 www Patented Nov. 4, y1930 UNITED STATES JEAN BAPTISTE IcRE, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

CBAI'T ADAPTED T0 TRAVEL ON LAND OR WATER OR IN' THEv AIB Application led January 22, 1929. Serial No. 334,190.

vMy present invention relates to a craft adapted to travel on land or water, or in the air, and thus constituting a combined motor car,'boat, and airplane. The object of the in- E vention is to provide a craft of this character which will operate elciently in any one of the three uses of the craft, and which can be changed readily from one traveling condition to another. i Without desiring to restrict myself to the exact construction illustrated, I will now pro. ceed to describe a typical and satisfactory example of my invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved craft, with parts broken away and a portion of the deck in section; Figs. 2 and 3 are cross sections substantially on line 2-2 and 3-3 respectively of Fig. l; Fig. llis a detail vertical 20. section of a movable scale arrangement employed in connection with the planes or wings of the craft; Fig. 5 is aI detail view of oneofl the plane-adjusting mechanisms; Fig. 6 is a detail View of an arrangement for obtaining a tight joint; Fig. 7 is a partial longitudinal section of one of the wings; and Fig. 8 is a cross section on line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

The hull 10 and deck 11 may be of any construct-ion suitable for the intended use, that is, such hull should have the proper de- -gree of watertightness and buoyancy to enable the craft to travel on water, as a boat. At 12 I have indicated an engine of any appropriate type supplying power for the pro- '35 pulsion of the craft. At the bow, I have shown an air-propeller 13 journaled in bearings 14 and operated from the engine shaft 15 by means of sprocket-s and a driviiig chain 16.

Preferably a clutch 17 is provided between 0 the shaft 15 and the propeller drive, so that the propeller 13 may be thrown out of action when desired, without stopping the engine 12. Such clutch would, of course, be o erated, by means of suitable connections not 15 shown) from the pilots stand or cockpit,

or from two different points of the craft, in

cases where a duel control 'is considered advisable.

The craft is madewith adjustable planesv or Wings of novel construction. The specific embodiment illustratedhas two such wings, or sets of wings, one in advance of the other. The lowersurfaces of these wings are concaved both transversely and longitudinally, and their front edges are thicker than their rear edges, .the thickness of the wings decreasing both forwardly and rearwardly from a point near the forward edge. The rear portions of the wings are connected rigidly with normally stationary supports 18,

.18 adapted to rock about transverse horizontal axes "19, 19 respectively on suitable bearings Carried by the body structure. The front portions of the wings are connectedy rigidly with brackets 20, 20 pivotally con 65 nected at 21, 21 respectively with theupper ends of rods'or links 22, 22 respectively, the lower ends of which have pivotal connections 23, 23 respectively with rods 24, 24 adapted to be moved up or down by suitable mechai nism. For instance, these rods may be screw rods the threads of which engage nuts such as 25; each of these nuts has worm teeth, such as 26, meshing with a Worm, such as 27, which may be rotated by means of a hand wheel 28. The horizontal pivot axes 21, '21', 23, 23 extend transversely, while the horizontal axis of the Worm 27 is preferably longitudinal. Theworm 27 and the nut- 25 may be supported in a carrier29 which mightbe rigidly secured 80 lto the body of the craft, but I prefer the arrangement shown, in which such carrier is constructed as a slide movable vertfcally along guides 30 in brackets 31 secured to the deck or other part of the body. Springs 32 85 tend to keep the slide or carrier 29 in its lower position, while the pressure exerted by the air against the lower wing surface, during the travel of the craft, tends to lift the slide and to compress the springs 32. In fact, the 90 provide a gauge consisting, for instance, of a graduated vertical rod 33 extending rigidly upward from the' slide 29 and adapted to indicate on any suitable relatively stationary member, such as the upper edge of the bracket 3l, see Fig. 5.

Each of the wings, or rather sets of wings, comprises a'main lower wing 34 and a plurality of supplementary upper wings 35, the latter being located in advance of one another, and preferably the forward edges of the rear supplementary wings overlap the rear edges of the' adjacent forward supplementar wings, but with clearances or channels at suc overlapping portions, as indicated at 36. The supplemental wings likewise have their lower surfaces concaved both longitudinally and transversely, and are, in effect, a reproduction of the main wings on a smaller scale, so that the description of the shape given in connection with the main wings will apply to the supplementary 'wings as well. The latter are supported on the main wings in any suitable manner, for instance by'means of struts 37, and braced,as by means of wires 38.

I prefer to make the lower or main wings 34 with movable side portions 39 adapted to take either the inactive position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, or the normal position indicated by solid lines, which show the side portions in registry and flush with the central or main portion of-the wings, being held in such position by wires or cables 40, or .other suitable means. A hinge-like connection between the side portions 39 and the body or central portion of the wing is formed by suitable parts, for instance brackets 41 pivoted to such body at 42 and secured rigidly to the respective side portions 39, the axes of the pivots 42 running lengthwise of the craft.

It may be'desirable to give a beating or apping motion to the side portions orauxiliary wings 39. In the embodiment illustrated, the brackets 4l are rigid or integral with extensions 43 connected with wires or cables 74 the lower ends of which may be hooked to rods 75 pivoted to slides 76 adaptedN to reciprocate along upright guides 77. Any suitable mechanism may be employed for operating the slides 76; I have indicated at 78 a mechanism comprising a shaft with a radially-adjustable crank pin and a connecting rod extending from said'pin to tle respective slide, the stroke of the slide being thus made variable. The ro 75 are also connected with cables 79 leading to pulleys 80 resting in bights of the cables 40, said cables 79 also engaging pulleys 81 supported on the hull or deck. It will be obvious that the reciprocation of the slides 76 wil1 cause the auxiliary wings 39 to beat up and down, thereby increasing the lifting power as is desirable at the start, or in landing. The mechanism 78 might be adjusted so as to give 'to their upward swing and increase the resistance to their downward swing. For this purpose, I have devised the cellular construction shown in Figs. 7 and 8, where the wing has longitudinal partitions 82 and transverse partitions 83 forming a series of passages which lead from the lower surface of the Wing to the upper surface thereof.i At the bottom of each passage, at the forward edge 0f the passage, I hinge a Hap 84 adapted to either close the passage, as indicated by full lines, or to open the passage, as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 7. Preferably, as shown in said figure, the passages are curved or inclined rearwardly from the bottom to the top, that is, the lower end of a passage is somewhat in advance of its upper end, so that the suction which the forward travel of the craft produces above the wing will assist in closing the flaps 84. The opening movement of the flaps may be limited by suitable stops.

The mechanism provided for iiapping the wings 39 might also'be employedfor adjusting or varying the inclination of said wings. That is to say, the shaft of the mechanism 78 might be given a partial rotation and then stopped in a position where the wing 39 will no longer be flush with the main lower wing 34, but inclined upwardly in relation thereto. This will reduce the eective carrying power of the wings 39 and may be employed .when great speed is desired. By adjusting the two auxiliary wings 39 in such a manner that the inclination of one of them will differ from the inclination of the other, I virtually accomplish a lateral shifting of the center of air pressure against the lower surface of the craft, and produce or assist the lateral steerinor effect.

when it is desired to bring the auxiliary wings39 to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, the wings are disconnected rom themechanisn 78, as by unhooking the cables 74 and removing the pulleys 80 from engagementwith the cables 40. The wings 39 are then swung on their pivots 42 in any suitable manner; for instance, a downward pull on the cables 74 (after their lower ends have been unhooked from the rods 7 5) will enable the crew to give the wings 39 an u ward swing of sli htly more than 90 on their pivots 42, and 4t en gravity will cause the wings to swing further, to the. position indicated by dotted lines. When the wings 39 are tobe. returned to the normal position, they will have to be pushed upwardlyv until they will swing outwardly and downwardly by gravity, and then `they will be connected as they were originally. In the position indi cate-l by dotted lines in Fig. 2, the auxiliary llO wings 39 lie above the supplementary wings 35. In this position, the auxiliary wings or side portions 39 are practically inactive, or at least the effective carrying surface formed by said portions 39 in conjunction with the body portion ofthe wing, is reduced very considerably. This is an advantage during flight, after the plane has attained a suflicient speed. When traveling at relatively low speeds, as in starting or landing, it is preferable to increase the effective wing area to a' maximum by swinging the side portions 39 out to the position indicated by full lines, and in addition thereto, the beating or flapping motion described above maybel employed at such times. w

It will be understood that during the travel of the craft, air will pass rearwardly under the supplementary wings 35, not only adj acent to the forward edge of the main wing 34, but also through the channels 36 between adjacent supplementary wings.

Another feature by which anI increased. lifting power and greater efficiency of the wings are obtained, consists in providing the lower or main wings 34 with channels or tunnels 44, extending longitudinally and -preferably curved so as to be higher at themiddle portion than at the ends ghat is, the curve is concave downwardly); ig. Qshows three such channels side by side, and from Fig. 1l it will appear that there are two'sets of suchtriple channels, one set in advance of the',-` other. The rear ends or outlets of the channels 44 are on the lower surface of the wing body, while their front ends or entrances are likewise on such lower surface, the entrances 0f the front channels 44 being practically on the forward edge or nose of the wing body. The' air flowing through these channels or tunnels 44 therefore does not pass through the wings to the upper surface thereof, but is discharged at the lower surface and increases the liftingeffect materially. At 45 I have 'indicated the customary airplane rudder mechanism for effecting vertical and lateral steering. i

Another feature for increasing the` eciency of the wings 34 consists in providing on their lower surface, fins or scales 46 having more or less the shape of an oyster shell or clam shell. Each scale`46 is pivoted individually tov its wing 34 about an axis 47 transverse tothe line of iiight and located' at the forward edge of the scale. Aroiled spring 48 interposed between the wingV proper and the scale46, tends to throw the latter, to an extreme .o-pen position (see dotted lines in Fig. 4) in which the scale forms an angle of about 45O with the adjacent portion of the wing surface. The dotand-dash lines in Fig. `4 indicate the other extreme position of the scale 46, whenqit will lie against the wing surface, as when' the airplane is traveling at a very high speed.

lines, and the air will not onlyact on the concave lower surface of the scale, but will also force its way between the scale and the lower surface of the wing, thus increasing the lifting power.l As the pressure of the air varies, the scales will move toward and from the wing, the tension of the springs 47 adjusting itself to the air pressure.

When the craft is used is a surface craft on water, propulsion may be obtained by means of the air propeller 13, as when traveling aloft, the side portions 39 being preferably folded inwardly when the craft is used as a boat, and the wings adjusted to a position in which they will oppose'the least resistance to the progress of the boat. Generally,

propeller 49 rotating about a vertical axis;

propellers of this type are disclosed in various patents-obtained by me, among them my U. S. Patent No. 1,471,896 of October 23, 1923. Such propeller may be driven by shafting 50 including a clutch 51 under the control of the operator, such shafting being driven from the engine 12 with the interposition of a speed-reducing gear 52.

For operation of the device as amotor car, I might again use the air-propeller 13. This however would generally be objection'- able, and the preferred drive in this case would be by means of a shaft l53 the connectionof which with the engine-shaft 15 is effected by a clutch 54 under the control of the operator. Through dierential mechanism 55 of any well-known or approved character, the shaft 53 drives theA rear wheelsv 56 mounted on the rear axle 57. The wheels are set in pockets 58 of the hull 10, which issupported on them yieldinglyby means of springs 59 interposed between the axle 57 and brackets 60 of the hull. Vertical slots 61 are provided inthe walls of the pockets 58 where the axle extends through such walls, and plates 62, held to moveup and down along said walls as the axle 5,7 moves relatively to the hull, cover said slots in such a manner as to prevent leakage of water into the hull at such times as the craftis used as a boat,'or when the craft, used as a motor car, passes through puddles or fords a stream.

The following mechanism is shown 1n the yias -front wheels 64, each mounted in a fork 65 the vertical stem 66 of which passes with a watertight fit through the top of the pocket 63 and through a cap 67 containing a coiled spring 68 for supporting the hull or body l() yieldingly on the forks 65 of the front Wheels. The upper ends of the stems 66 are made square (or of any other non-circular shape) and have a sliding fit iny correspondingly shaped central apertures of sprockets 69 which are adapted to turn, but can not move up or down relatively to the hull and to the caps 67. The-two sprockets 69 are engaged by a chain 70 which compels them to turn in unison toa like extent and in the same direction, and motion is imparted to said chain in any suitable manner, for instance by means ofan actuating sprocket 71 engaging thecentral portion of the chain and mounted on a vertical shaft 72 which may be operated from a steering wheel 73, through any suitable connecting mechanism.

The wheels 56, 64 project but little from the bull or body 10, and are therefore wellprotected both when the craft is used as a motor car and when "it serves as a boat. Moreover, with the buffers formed by the springs 59 and 68, said wheels constitute a very strong and efficient landing gear when the craft is used as an airplane.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the. nature of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim l. In aircraft, a body, a wing connected with said body movably and adapted to assume different inclinations, a compressible cushion interposed betweenv the wing and the body, and a gauge for indicating the condition of said cushion.

, 2. In aircraft, a body, a wing connected with said body movably and adapted to assume different inclinations, a rod movable up and down relatively to the body and operatively connected with said wing, a slide movable up and down relatively to the body, an

adjustable connection between the slide and the rod to shift the latter up or down relatively to the slide, and a spring interposed ,between the body and the slide and adapted to be strained by the upward movement of the slide. v V

3. In aircraft, a body, a wing connected with said body movably and adapted to assume different inclinations, a slide movable up and down relatively to said body,-an adjustable connection between the slide and the wing to change/the inclination-of said wing, and a spring interposed between the body and the slide and adapted to bestrained by the upward movement of the wing. c

4. In aircraft, a body, a wing connected with said body movably and adapted to assume different inclinations, a slide movable un and down relatively to said body, anl adj ustable connection between the slide and the wing to change the inclination of -said wing, a spring interposed between the body and the slide and adapted to be strained by the upward movement of the wing, and a gauge for indicating the strain condition of the spring.

5. In a craft of the character described, a body, a main wing connected with said body movably and adapted to assume different longitudinal inclinations, and side portions movably connected with said main wing to swing about axes extending lengthwise of said main wing.

6. In a craft of the character described, a body, a main wing connected with said body movably and adapted to assume differentlongitudinal inclinations, and side portions movably connected with said main wing to swing about Aaxes extending lengthwise of said main wing, and mechanism for flapping said side portions irrespective of whatever inclination the main wing may have been given.

7. In a craft of the character described, a body, a. wing connected with said body movably to assume different inclinations length- WiseV of the body, supplementary wings located above the main wing and adjustable in unison therewith, and side portions movably connected with the main Wing to swing about axes extending lengthwise of said main Wing at the edges thereof, said side portions being adapted to be folded over the said supplementary wings. l

8. In a craft of the ".character described, a body provided with wheels adapted to engage the ground, a wing connected with said body movably and adapted to assume differ-` ent longitudinal inclinations, flapping side portions carried by said wing to swing about longitudinal axes, and driving mechanism having connections to operate said flapping wings and also for rotating said wheels.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set 

